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Non-medical health sector slapped with two enjoining orders

10 Feb 2022

 
  • Trade unions put on brave face 
  • Medical specialists urge Minister not to give in to demands
  By Buddhika Samaraweera The District Court of Colombo yesterday (10) issued two enjoining orders against the Government Nursing Officers’ Association (GNOA) and its President Saman Rathnapriya, calling for the immediate suspension of their strike, after taking into account a request made by Attorney General (AG) President’s Counsel (PC) Sanjay Rajaratnam.  The AG had also appraised the court of the current conditions at hospitals and that patient care has been gravely affected due to the strike. Accordingly, District Court Judge of Colombo Aruna Aluthge issued two enjoining orders, preventing the GNOA from continuing the said strike. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Vikum De Abrew, PC, with State Counsels (SCs) Chathura Gunatilake and Sehan Soyza, appeared on behalf of the AG.  However, when contacted by The Morning last evening, Ravi Kumudesh, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS), which is among the 18 non-medical trade unions that are engaged in a continuous strike action, said that they would continue to engage in the strike action.   “We are not aware of an issuance of any orders. In case there are any, we will seek legal advice regarding such. What I have to say is we will continue with the ongoing strike action,” he said.  Furthermore, the GNOA, the trade union against which one of the aforesaid enjoining orders has been issued, on its official Facebook page, stated last evening. “The ongoing struggle of 18 health sector trade unions across the country has reached an uncontrollable level. The Government is using the last trump card to sabotage it. As a result, an enjoining order was issued a short while ago. Despite bringing not one enjoining order but 10 of such, the more than 65,000 officers in this coalition will continue this struggle.”  Meanwhile, the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS), in a letter dated 9 February, to Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, has claimed that the ongoing health sector trade union action has made the poorest of the poor absolutely helpless. Observing that industrial action should generally be considered as the last resort in winning any demand, the AMS stated that the health sector trade unions’ move to declare a continuous strike is ill-timed and somewhat selfish at this critical juncture.  “If this continues in the same direction, all powerful trade unions will be claiming various demands, thus leading the nation into chaos. As an important professional group in the public sector, we urge the Government to work for a long-lasting solution in correcting salary anomalies in conformity with the national policy and through the National Pay Commission (NPC), giving due consideration to educational and professional qualifications,” it added. The letter read that trade union actions in the recent past have resulted in severe public disgust and dismay, generally towards the public sector. Claiming that the Government has succumbed to trade unions pressure by granting certain public servants monetary and other perks, the AMS noted that such ad hoc decisions have opened avenues for various groups to fight for their claims. “We urge you not to give in to the pressure exerted by certain health sector trade unions causing chaos in the country, thereby severely inconveniencing the poor public. We hope and pray that the Government will take a serious note of this potential danger and imminent cascade effect which can follow,” the AMS added.  The strike action launched by 18 non-medical health sector trade unions  including those of the nursing and paramedical services, public health inspectors, and medical laboratory technologists demanding that their issues, in particular that the salary and promotion-related issues be addressed, continued for the fourth day yesterday. The said strike action which is being launched at hospitals islandwide is another in a series of strikes launched by them in the recent past. The TUs had organised protests in five districts yesterday. Speaking to the media last afternoon, Rathnapriya said that the protests were held in the Kurunegala, Matara, Badulla (in Mahiyangana), Vavuniya, and Ampara Districts. He further said: “We would like to inform the Government that we will continue with the strike action until an acceptable solution is given to our issues. We have intensified the trade union action by organising protests islandwide. The first series of protests was held in five districts. In another two days, we will come to Colombo with a large number of health workers. What we say is that the Government should address our issues immediately without dragging this into such a situation.”  The trade unions engaged in the said strike had a discussion with Rambukwella on 8 February, but the same had ended without reaching an agreement. Following the failed discussion, the trade unions announced that they had decided to continue with the strike action they initiated. Earlier, non-medical trade unions launched a number of token strike actions islandwide demanding that solutions be given to the issues they face. In addition to the strikes, several protests were also held. They had also organised a motorcade in Colombo on 30 November 2021, demanding that the Government provide immediate solutions to their issues including salary and promotion-related issues.

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